AAE thanks European countries supporting Armenian Cause

PanARMENIAN.Net - On the occasion of the third anniversary of the assassination of Hrant Dink, the editor-in-chief of Istanbul-based Agos newspaper and the upcoming 95th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the Assembly of Armenians of Europe (AAE) expressed its gratitude to the European countries, organizations and political parties supporting the Armenian Cause (Hay Dat).



The AAE statement says:

"The assassination of Hrant Dink committed by a Turk extremist on January 19, 2007 in front of the editorial office was not a simple accident. Hrant Dink was a fervent human rights advocate and was repeatedly condemned for violating the discreditable article 301 (insulting Turkishness). This proves that nationalism is stimulated and encouraged by the Turkish state itself on a daily basis.



Turkey dares to blame the European Union for being a "Christian Club", while violent persecutions towards Armenians, Assyrians, Greeks and other nationalities go on in Turkey itself



By blaming the European Union for being a "Christian Club", Turkey tries to overpass the real problem, which is the understanding and the application of human values, which are universal and do not depend on any ideology, religion or belief. It is also worth to mention the strained relations between Turkey and its neighbors. Turkey does its best to show that it tries to regulate the relations with the neighbors and settle all the problems, there seems to be a dead end.

The violations of maritime and aerial frontiers of Greece take place every day and even during the holidays, the occupation of Cyprus, continues since 1974, but he most ridiculous behavior of Turkey concerns Armenia.



Turkey continuously refuses to recognize the Armenian Genocide, and more, it breaks the international low by blockading Armenia, which has no access to the sea.



On the occasion of the third anniversary of the assassination of Hrant Dink, the AAE expresses its condolences to his family as well as thanks the persons and organizations in Turkey, which fight for democracy in their country and condemn the genocide committed against the Armenians.



The AAE supports all the European organizations and countries, which maintain that democratization of Turkey is a precondition for its admittance as a member of EU.



Before becoming a member of the European Union, Turkey should reconsider its past and values."



Hrant Dink (September 15, 1954 - January 19, 2007) was a Turkish-Armenian journalist and columnist and editor-in-chief of Agos bilingual newspaper. Dink was best known for advocating Turkish-Armenian reconciliation and human and minority rights in Turkey. Charged under the notorious article 301 of the Turkish Criminal Code, Dink stood a trial for insulting Turkishness. After numerous death threats, Hrant Dink was assassinated in Istanbul in January 2007, by Ogün Samast, a 17-year-old Turkish nationalist.



The Armenian Cause (Hay Dat) is the whole set of problems taking start with the Armenian national liberation movement for restoration of the independent Armenian state and reunification of Armenians. The core issue is the worldwide recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Hay Dat has offices across the globe.



The Armenian Genocide (1915-23) was the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was characterized by massacres, and deportations involving forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number of deaths reaching 1.5 million. 



The date of the onset of the genocide is conventionally held to be April 24, 1915, the day that Ottoman authorities arrested some 250 Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in Constantinople. Thereafter, the Ottoman military uprooted Armenians from their homes and forced them to march for hundreds of miles, depriving them of food and water, to the desert of what is now Syria. Massacres were indiscriminate of age or gender, with rape and other sexual abuse commonplace. The Armenian Genocide is the second most-studied case of genocide after the Holocaust.



The Republic of Turkey, the successor state of the Ottoman Empire, denies the word genocide is an accurate description of the events. In recent years, it has faced repeated calls to accept the events as genocide.



To date, twenty countries and 44 U.S. states have officially recognized the events of the period as genocide, and most genocide scholars and historians accept this view. The Armenian Genocide has been also recognized by influential media including The New York Times, BBC, The Washington Post and The Associated Press. 



The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the Genocide survivors.